White Shadow
by Emporer339
Summary: A darker take on the adventures of a master thief. A mysterious terrorist organization known as black cat has been dogging the cooper gang and world police both. What are their goals and motives? Why are they after the Cooper gang? And just who are its reclusive members? All of these questions will be answered in this gritty yet familiar tale about Sly Cooper and his gang.
1. The beginning of the beginning

**Chapter 1: The beginning of the beginning**

"Blood… there's blood on my hands." The figure said in a faint voice. "Why is there blood on my hands?" He asked himself. His voice kept trailing off. The raccoon patted his gut a little then looked at the large blotches of blood appearing on his hand as he did so. "Oh, that's right…" He chuckled. *cough cough* "It's my blood." Sly stumbled forwards on the metal grating as his blood flowed cleanly out of his newly created orifice. He then fell over, dropping his cane. Sly's vision was blurred and he could hear a loud ringing sound at the back of his head. "Damn it, I shouldn't make jokes. That's what got me into this mess in the first place." *Cough cough* Sly coughed up blood and it sprayed the metal grating beneath him. This unusual place was not a safe place for the master thief to stay. "I gotta… Gotta get out." Sly's voice trailed off again. He fumbled around for his cane and used it to slowly and clumsily get himself back on his feet. Everything seemed so dark. It was like night time had been taken to a new level. "Wow, where are the stars? Oh, right. I'm inside." Sly tripped over again, but quickly recovered. His body felt weak. It was extremely tempting to just lie down and let nature take its course. However, this raccoon wasn't about to let exhaustion get in the way of his survival. Sly picked up the pace and even began to stride across the metal floor. This sudden burst of energy was short lived however, as he collapsed within a matter of seconds. He could feel it all fading away. 'Is this it?' Sly thought to himself. "No. It can't be. I'm not going down like this." He slammed the cane to the ground so that it was vertical. Sly then used it to struggle his way off the ground. His knees shook as he did so and they soon gave way, causing him to fall to his knees, holding onto his cane in order to keep himself upright. Sly panted heavily and coughed up some more blood. As he began pulling himself up a second time, his wound gave him an extremely sharp pain. Ignoring this as best he could, the cooper lifted himself up and returned to his slow walking pace, occasionally drifting around due to the weariness caused by blood loss. Sly felt like he's had one to many martinis or some other equally intoxicating beverage. He stumbled forward, using his cane for support. "A door." He smiled. A door stood before him and the sweet smell of fresh air leaked through, taking the place of the musty, humid feel of the air that Sly had been tasting along with his own blood. He took one hand of the cane, steadying it with the other to keep him balanced. He used his free hand to push the door. However, it wouldn't budge. Sly looked at the wall and noticed the command console attached to it. "Right. It's locked. Of course it is." Sly struggled to pin in his desired numbers. 'Good thing I stole this.' He thought to himself as he heard the wrong pass-code sign and fumbled to take the pass-card out of his pocket. He slipped it in the console and it automatically opened the door for him. "Freedom, sweet Freedom!" Sly exclaimed as loud as he could (which wasn't that loud). He clumsily made his way out of the door and into the back alley, leaving behind the pass-card and tripping over as he did so. After picking himself up another time sly turned to face the exit of the alley, seeing bright street lights. These lights almost blinded him. Not being used to the light yet, he covered his eyes with his blood drenched arm and continued to stumble forward. Slower and slower, Sly's pace took a turn for the worse and it took more than a few minutes. He lowered his arm and held his hand against the seeping wound. "Gah!" He cried out in pain as he dropped to his knees. The injured raccoon coiled over and grimaced. The pain was now too much to ignore, even with the weariness that the blood loss had caused him. But Sly forged on. He couldn't let his injury beat him. Sly was making good progress when he felt it. He'd already walked a few streets too. Unfortunately, he could no longer handle it. He had lost too much blood.

* * *

Suddenly, an array of lights surrounded me as I felt the life slowly leaving my body. Where did these lights come from and why where they there? I asked myself these questions as my vision was restored and my arm lowered. I was standing right outside a police station. And not just any police station. It was the office that Carmelita worked in. How ironic! As the police surrounded me and I fell to my knees, a voice sounded off in the distance. It was familiar, though I don't know whose it was. I saw them, but they were a blur to me and my hearing became too fuzzy to make out their voice. I squinted my eyes in an attempt to sharpen my vision, but failed miserably. Coughing up blood and losing a lot of it through my wound, I collapsed. Soon after, the darkness took me. Is this the end for me? Is this the end for Sly Cooper?

* * *

**I know this first chapter was short, but It is just an introduction. I've already began writing the second chapter. It'll be out soon. I've rated this story as M since I'll be describing violent scenes (such as bleeding and slamming and moments of intense pain) although there will be little to no 'explicit' content (although there may be mild suggestive themes). Also don't worry about this ugly chunk of text. I do that when there are no other characters around. The other chapters will be paragraphed.**


	2. Return of a nemesis

**Chapter 2: Return of a nemesis**

**Unknown location - A few years ago:**

"Neyla, you're awake." The wolf said calmly. "Good. I've been waiting for the past few days for this to happen." Neyla's vision was blurred. She tried to make out the vague shaped that lay before her, but no matter how much she tried, it was impossible to focus her vision.

"Wha… who's there?" She asked threateningly. A blurry figure to her right moved.

"You took quite the beating back there, didn't you?" This figure was the wolf that she had seen before, briefly. Neyla looked around a while before noticing something odd. She felt smaller somehow.

"My body! What did you do to it?!" She asked in a demanding, yet almost choked voice. The wolf lifted his head up. His back was turned to her and he was sitting pretty far from her position, but he could tell what her exact expression was.

"Your body!?" The wolf exclaimed, surprised by this claim. "I didn't think that you were born a robotic owl. Buuut, if you say so…" The wolf taunted her sarcastically.

"Just tell me where clockwerks body is!" Neyla demanded.

"Gone." The wolf said quickly.

"Gone?! What do you mean gone?!"

"I mean gone as in no more. It no longer exists. It deteriorated after Sly destroyed the hate chip.

"Sly!" Neyla shouted in an agitated voice. "When I get my hands on him…" She paused after a sudden realization. "But wait! If the chip was destroyed, then how am I still alive?!" She looked directly at the wolf. Although her vision was blurred, she still recognised him as the man who she saw before she last went unconscious.

"No, I tell a lie. It was Carmelita Fox who destroyed the hate chip." The wolf raised a hand in the air, ignoring Neyla's last question. The tiger frowned. This guy seemed as dense as the earth's core. She just wasn't getting through to him.

"Did you save me?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because I felt like it." The wolf replied. He then stood up and made his way over to Neyla. She tried to get up herself, but her body was too weak to move very much. All she could do was turn her head and talk. Neyla made out the general area around her. The two of them were definitely on some sort of giant ledge. It was most likely on some desolate mountain. She would have preferred to be in a warm cosy bed rather than the makeshift one on the edge of a precarious ledge, but she was in no place to argue, considering her position.

"You felt like saving me? That's not much of a reason."

"Well… I guess it's a bit more complicated than that." The wolf admitted. "You see…"

"Nooo!" Neyla cried out in horror." The wolf raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"What is it?"

"If the Clockwerk parts have been destroyed, how am I going to become immortal?"

"Immortality, huh? You don't want to be getting into that business, trust me. It's more work than it's worth." The wolf sat down beside Neyla's makeshift bed. "Besides, there is no such thing as true immortality." He explained. "We live, we die. End of story. I'm afraid that living forever just isn't an option." He crossed his legs and stared at Neyla. "I don't see the appeal in it anyway. Sure, living a long while is fun, but if I had to live forever then I'd probably go crazy." Neyla turned her head away from him. Her neck caused her severe pain as she did so, but she didn't let that bother her.

"But even if I didn't live forever… I would have had so much power!" She clenched her fists. The wolf saw this and huffed.

"Your devotion to becoming immortal or powerful is almost laughable." He remarked.

"Oh yeah!?" Neyla snapped her had back around, prompting more pain to shoot throughout her body. "Why is that?!" Neyla asked, clearly annoyed with the wolf's comment.

"Because Clockwerk was so weak." The wolf replied. Neyla's expression changed. She was confused, yet remained silent. "You should have known that from the fact that it only took Sly and Carmelita to rip him to shreds. Sure he didn't die, but he got the crap beaten out of him by a thief and an inspector." The wolf looked directly into her eyes, his face showing an extremely serious expression. This unnerved Neyla, and especially so when…

"Aaaaaaaah!" She cried out in pain. The wolf pressed his hand harder on her gut and blood began to show through the bandages.

"I really hope that you've learnt your lesson." He took his hand off and wiped the blood from it. Neyla lay on the ground, breathing heavily and irregularly. "Your wounds were severe. If I hadn't pulled you out and performed surgery on you…" He crossed his arms. "Well, you'd be dead."

"Just… *pant* Just who are you… *pant* anyway?!" Neyla struggled to speak through the pain. The wolf smiled.

"You can call me Julian." The wolf answered. "I work for…"

"So why did you save me, Julian?!" Neyla asked.

'For the love of god; does this woman ever shut up?' "As I was saying, I work for…"

"And don't think you can get away with seeing me naked!"

"First off, I had no choice but to initially undress you! I had to perform a delicate procedure which can't be done if you're fully clothed!" Julian explained. "Second of all, let me finish what I'm saying and everything will be explained!" Neyla did not reply. After Julian calmed down he breathed out and began his explanation. "I work for an organization known as Black Cat. It is my duty as one of the lieutenants to make sure everything runs smoothly. You see, we all share a common goal. Although I doubt that you would have any interest in that. My point is that I see potential in you, even if you are a conniving, manipulative psychopath. We… I could use your skills."

"So you saved me because you want me to be your protégé?"

"I guess you could put it like that."

"It's a nice offer, but it doesn't really interest me. What if I say no?" Neyla asked. Julian replied by placing a hand over her wound.

"Right, why would I expect any less from people like you."

"People like me? That's a very black and white way of looking at things. I don't like that. Perhaps you're not as useful as I thought you'd be…"

"Wait. I didn't say that I wouldn't help you! What's in it for me?" Neyla questioned. She just managed to sit up straight and adjusted her bandages as she did so. Looking over herself, it was easy to tell that bandages were all she had on. They did cover her body to satisfactory standards though.

"Power. What you want most." Julian smiled. Trust me; I know how to get power. Power far beyond even the comprehension of Clockwerk." He stood up and walked to the edge of the ledge. Julian raised his arms in the air and looked down at the thin walkway far away. Convoys of materials and goods were being shipped across it. Shipped towards the large base buried in the far mountain to Julian's left. "If you want something, anything save immortality…" He turned to face Neyla. "I can get it for you. Neyla scratched her chin. Something seemed odd about this, but everything had changed so quickly, it left her with little choice.

'I could use this guy. He knows my ways but it shouldn't be too hard to control him. After all, he is pretty open.' "That's a very nice offer. I like those terms very much."

"I change my mind. You're not joining." Julian turned back around and enjoyed the view.

"What!? Why not?!"

"I can tell when someone is putting on an act. You didn't think that it'd be easy manipulating a genius, did you?" Julian complimented himself. Neyla sighed.

'Unbelievable. This guy could tell what I was planning straight away.' "Fine, Genius. You've got yourself a protégé, but only because of your terms and nothing else. Fail to meet my standards and the deal's off."

"That's more like it!" Julian turned around, beaming a smile at her. "Welcome to the team." Neyla looked away from him. "Yeah, whatever. Just tell me where my clothes are and we'll be off?"

"They're in there." Julian pointed at a small tent. "I cleaned them for you, so there shouldn't be any blood stains." Neyla mumbled and began to attempt standing up. Her legs were wobbly and the pain in her body cut deep. Stumbling towards the tent, she fell to the ground again, only to be picked up by Julian.

"You know, if you need help, you just have to ask." He smiled at her. Julian slung her arm around his neck and helped her into the tent. Just as he said, her clothes were waiting there in a neat, clean pile. "I'll wait for you outside." Julian sat down outside the tent door and crossed his arms. 'What a strange girl.' He thought to himself. 'She'd be my type if she wasn't so damn evil.' He sighed.

"Stupid clothes!" Neyla exclaimed. She struggled to put anything on as her limbs shook. Every task seemed a hundred times harder than normal. Everything was so fiddly. "Damn trousers." Neyla frowned.

"Need help?" Julian called from outside the tent.

"No!" Neyla shouted. She then realized something. 'Wait just a second Neyla. If you let this guy help you out, he'll be way more affectionate towards you. After all, giving gifts and doing favours for people actually makes you like them more. I could use this to my advantage.' "Actually… yes." Neyla admitted sorrowfully. "I can't seem to get dressed." Julian stood up and entered.

"Not surprising. Your body has suffered a lot of trauma, so I can imagine how hard it is to do things. I assume that it's especially frustrating when normal tasks become a challenge."

"Yeah, yeah. Are you going to help me?" 'He knows that if I act all nice and friendly it's an act. Just act normal and he won't suspect a thing.' Julian took her shorts and pulled them over her feet. Neyla moved her body accordingly.

"So how did you get into the criminal business?" Julian proceeded to put the shorts in their rightful place and threaded the belt around it.

"It's a long story. I'd rather not talk about it." Neyla grimaced as the belt tightened and caused her pain. The wound in her waist seemed the worse, especially since Julian re-opened it with his hand.

"I hope that it didn't stem from your wish to become immortal." Julian stated. Neyla turned her back to him and rested on his knees. The wolf then picked up her torso wear and began to place it on her. "That would be disappointing." When Julian finished dressing her, he handed Neyla her hood. "Rest up for a while. We're in no rush to go anywhere." With that, Julian left the tent and made his way back over to the ledge. Neyla was left with her own thoughts.

'Clockwerk is destroyed. Clock-la is no more. Everything that I've worked towards. It's all for nothing. I haven't got anything left in this world. I'll just have to cling on to Julian and hope he takes me in the right direction.' She looked at the makeshift bed that Julian had been using. 'Funny how he got to sleep in the tent. But I guess it's my bed now.' Neyla dropped her hood onto her boots and crawled under the duvet. "Power. He promised power." She smiled. "I'll take what I can get, and I'll use it to crush the Cooper gang and that damn Carmelita Fox!"

* * *

**Paris – Present day:**

"So this is what you've been waiting for, huh?" Julian stood on a rooftop and looked out across the urban area of Paris. "Good thing that the boss now has an interest in the Cooper gang. What an odd bunch of guys." His voice was calm and serene. "Why such a long wait?" He asked.

"I want to make sure that Sly doesn't beat me this time." Neyla admitted. "With all of the training that we've done, there is no way I can lose now!" She jumped across the rooftops in search of her target. "I'm coming for you Cooper!"

* * *

**I'm still trying to think of another baddie. A female one. I'll ponder over it whilst you Rate and Review this story. Hey you know what's weird? I've never even played a Sly game :P I've seen playthroughs though.**


	3. Good a name as any

**Chapter 3: A good a name as any**

'What the hell is this?" Sly thought to himself as the world fell around him. Everything was blurred and almost nothing made a sound. It was impossible to make out anything as his concentration was appalling 'Am I in a dream?' Sly thought. 'It has to be.' Sounds began to emerge. Fuzzy sounds. Eventually they formed into a voice which was to faint to recognize (not that Sly could think straight in this state of mind anyway). He knew that the voice was calling out words, but they were unintelligible.

*Shhhhhhhhhhhh. Aiiiiii* Sly tried to make out the words that the faint voice was saying. *Aaaaaai… Lie* Lie. Was that the word that the voice was calling out?

'What are they saying?' Sly thought to himself.

*Sly.*

'Sly?'

*Sly!*

'Is that voice… calling out my name?'

"Wake up ringtail!" Carmelita shouted. Sly immediately woke and sat up straight. He was in a cell. "So you react to that, but not your name? I'll have to remember to call you ringtail more often." Sly cocked his head.

'Why am I in a cell? Did I get captured?' Sly looked around the holding cell. It was made almost entirely of metal. That included the bars that Carmelita was standing behind (from Sly's perspective). "Hey, it's very nice to see you again Carmelita, my sweet."

"Ugh, don't you dare call me that!" The fox growled.

"Oh, come on. You know you like it."

"Unless you hadn't forgotten…" Carmelita waved her hand around. "… We are no longer dating! You're single, I'm single…"

"Then it's the best opportunity to pick things up where they left off."

"There is no chance in 'infernio' that we are getting back together."

"So you're telling me that you don't miss coming home to me. After a long day's work, you come home, get a nice foot rub, a romantic meal and a dance under the stars…"

"You never did any of those things for me."

"Oh, right. I forgot."

"How do I know that you're not lying about it this time?"

"Ouch. Are you really gonna bring that up every time we talk?"

"Not every time. Just when you try to get into my 'pantalones'!"

"Hey, it's just harmless flirting." Sly stuck his hands up and smiled. Carmelita calmed down.

"Well it doesn't matter anymore. You're finally behind bars." She breathed out a sigh of relief as she spoke. She also seemed rather giddy. "It's taken a long time, but I finally did it. I caught Sly Cooper." She made a gun shape with her hands and pretended to shoot Sly with it, blowing her fingers afterwards. Sly raised an eyebrow.

"From what I remember, I collapsed outside the station. Not much of a capture really." Sly looked down at his bandages."

"Whatever." Carmelita hissed. 'I've got to think of something that will make him jealous of my position. Aha, I know what'll do the trick.' She smiled. "You know cooper…" Her voice was much more relaxed. "Now that I've captured you, I'm getting offers from the C.I.A. They think I have the material to work for them, maybe even become a higher up."

"Well good for you!" Sly smiled, despite his position.

"You know what that means don't you?" Carmelita asked.

"What it means?"

"It means the top brass think that you're a big fish. You're probably going away for a long time."

"What? Seriously?"

"Oh don't worry. I'm sure you'll get out in… maybe fifteen-twenty years."

"What did I do to deserve that?" Sly panicked.

'Is this guy an idiot?' Carmelita thought to herself. "You've stolen from endless amounts of people. You didn't think stealing priceless artefacts for a living was going to get you small time, did you?" The Latino fox crossed her arms. "After taking down Clock-la, your gang has become well known across the world. Because you are so well known, an example has to be made of you. Sure twenty years is a little long for thievery, but that's how the cookie rolls."

"I think you mean… that's how the cookie crumbles."

"Do you ever shut up, ringtail?"

"If you want me to be quiet, I'll be quiet." Sly tugged his hat over his eyes and lay down on the metal frame which was his bed.

"Hey. How can you act so calm? You've finally been caught and now you're going away for a very long time!" Carmelita shouted. "What are you lying around for?" Sly poked his hat up with one of his index fingers.

"Well, there's nothing I can do. So I'll just wait until my buddies bust me out."

"Your 'buddies' aren't going to bust anyone out. I've beefed up security to keep you locked up. No-one without full security access can even get into this ward!" Carmelita frowned. "It's not going to hap…"

"I thought you knew my gang better than this. They'll get me out, just you see." Sly lay back down on his bed. Carmelita smiled.

'He's never going to change, is he?' She sighed. "You there." She pointed at one of the security officers.

"Yes, sir… I mean ma'am, sir… ma'am."

"Open this door and lock it behind me."

"I don't have the keys sir, ma'am. Only high ranging authorities…"

"Here." Carmelita handed him the keys. "Remember. I don't want you to open it back up until I'm done."

"Yes sir… ma'am." The guard unlocked the door and allowed the inspector to enter the cell. He then locked the cell door behind Carmelita. The inspector then walked over to sly and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him up.

"I need to ask you a few questions." She explained spitefully. As Sly was pulled up, he could feel the bullet wound in his gut cause him pain.

"Ow, I call police brutality." He said playfully.

"Shut up ringtail. Just answer my questions." Carmelita sat on the opposite bed.

"That's fine by me. Just don't get too carried away. I know how touchy you can get when we're so close." Sly joked.

"I do not get touchy!" Carmelita blushed a little and avoided eye-contact.

"Really? Because it seems like you're getting defensive."

"Are you going to answer my questions or not?!" The fox snapped.

"I will, I will." Sly laughed. "So what did you want to ask me? Do you want to know how I get to looking so handsome?"

"In your dreams, Cooper." Carmelita glared at him. "I want to know what happened to you before we found you." Sly leaned back against the wall.

"Before I collapsed outside the station, you mean?"

"Yes. How and where did you get that bullet wound? And who shot you?" Carmelita crossed her legs and rested her elbows on them, leaning forward and resting her chin on the back of her hands. Sly sighed and thought back. It was all a blur.

"I'm afraid that I can't answer that question, Carmelita."

"Can't answer it?" Carmelita pushed herself up. "Why not?"

"I don't remember what happened. My memory goes as far back as stumbling around in this back alley, bleeding everywhere to when I fell unconscious."

"That's bull 'mierda' and you know it."

"Hey, enough with the Latin, lady. I'm just giving you the facts."

"Why should I trust you? It's not like you've been very truthful in the past!"

"Here we go again!" Sly said to himself.

"What did you say?!" Carmelita asked, enraged.

"Nothing, nothing. I swear!" Sly assured her. Eventually, Carmelita calmed down and took a deep breath.

"Isn't there anything that you can tell me?"

"I'm afraid not, unless you want to know how much this wound hurt. I was hoping you guys would know something about this."

"Well we don't."

"What about the bullet. Didn't the doctor pull it out? Maybe you could examine it and see where it came from."

"Unfortunately it was a clean shot, right through your body. Luckily, it didn't hit any vital organs."

"So you do care about me!" Sly grinned.

"Wha… No!" Carmelita blushed again. "I was just concerned that I wouldn't get to see you suffer in jail!"

"Sure, sure. That's defiantly why you're blushing." The raccoon said in a childish manner. Carmelita Fox immediately stood up and asked for the guard to let her out. "I'm not blushing." She said as she left the cell. The guard proceeded to lock the door and hand the inspector her keys.

"Then why is your face all red." Sly pointed at her.

"I'm not red!" Carmelita shouted.

"Oh, then you must be a grey fox." The master thief laughed.

"Shut up! I'm not blushing, okay!" Inspector Fox stormed off. As she made her way out of the ward, her voice became fainter and fainter (again, from Sly's perspective). "Maldito cabrόn! Yo dibería tener rasgado su dios maldito garganta fuera cuando yo tenía la oportunidad!"

"Wow, she's really angry." Sly leaned to see down the hallway. He then returned to his bed. "Guess I'll just have to wait until Bentley and Murray come up with a plan."

Bentley swiveled his chair around and opened up some files on his laptop. His fingers moved quickly due to his practice with computer technology earlier on in his life. Scanning each individual piece of software that he could find, Bentley made his way closer to finalizing his own piece of software that he was working on.

"Uh, Bentley. Have you found Sly yet? I'm getting worried."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I have."

"Oh good!"

"Not oh good, I'm afraid. It would seem that Sly's gotten himself captured by none other than inspector Fox!"

"Oh no! That's not good. But I'm impressed how quickly you found him. You didn't even open up the laptop until a few seconds ago."

"Uh… actually the newspaper told me where he was. Bentley picked up the paper and handed it to his hippo friend. Just as he said, the newspaper said it all. On the front page was a picture of Carmelita Fox. The title read 'Damn fine Latino captures crooked criminal!'

"This is bad, Bentley! What are we going to do?!" Murray whined. Bentley poked his glasses further up his face and opened up a few more files.

"We're going to save our friend!" He raised a finger in the air. "I have already devised a plan to do so." The box turtle said confidently. "Take a look at this." He beckoned his fellow Cooper gang member over to him. Murray did as told and watched as the 'brains' of the team explained the details of his plan. "It would seem that Sly is being held in the High security ward…" Bentley spoke in a nasally voice. His tone being that of a serious businessman, yet a slight touch of immaturity. He began to show Murray a slide show of pictures that had been taken of the ward. "… And even worse, Carmelita has increased security drastically. She doesn't want Sly to get away again." Bentley brought up a diagram of the stations layout. "It won't be long before Sly is transferred to an actual high security prison. If we let that happen, there will be no way of rescuing him. We have to strike now!" The turtle turned to face the hippo that loomed over him. "Murray, you're going to have to distract the guards that patrol this area. Lure them away and take them down."

"Don't worry Bentley. 'The Murray' will find this task un-challenging!" Murray turned to walk off before being dragged back by one of Bentley's robotic arms.

"Don't be too hasty Murray. I still need to explain the rest of the plan." Bentley calmed his friend down. "Once the guards are gone. I can plant some controlled explosives here, here and here. Then we'll have to go into the station, in disguise, and walk right up to the information desk and claim that we've seen some guards being attacked. Making sure that everyone can hear us, of course. The guards will rush out to check what's happened, giving us the chance to sneak into the main office building. From there, we need to sneak into Carmelita's office and steal the keys. She'll have them since she can gain access to the area that Sly is being held in. Then we get out of the station as fast as possible!" Bentley sat on the edge of his wheelchair.

"Uh, Bentley? If we're trying to rescue Sly, then why are we getting out of the building instead of breaking into the high security area and breaking him out."

"I'm glad you asked. The reason behind this is that if we were to place a single foot, or wheel… hehe… in that area, we would be arrested immediately!" Bentley tapped on his screen and the diagram of the police station zoomed on the max security ward. Murray stuck his hand up and was about to say something, but was interrupted by his turtle friend's further explanation of his plan. "The reason for getting the key is to get Carmelita to think that we're going to break Sly out from the inside. Once she realizes that her keys are gone, she'll mobilize as many guards as she can 'into' the maximum security ward. She knows how successful we've been in the past; she'll be so paranoid about Sly's escape that she couldn't possibly resist sticking that much security between us and our target. That will most likely leave the outside unguarded. I'll detonate the explosives that I planted earlier. The explosion will knock a hole into the back wall of Sly's holding cell. We'll rendezvous with him and get the hell out of there! It will take forever to get any guards to reach that point from the inside!" Bentley wiped his brow. "It'll take all of our combined effort, but we'll pull it off." He smiled.

"That sounds like a plan to me!" Murray swung his arm. "Let's do this."

"Indeed. Let's get operation… eh." Bentley scratched his head.

"What's the matter Bentley? Can't you come up with a cool name for the plan?" Murray lowered his arm.

"No. It doesn't matter though…"

"Now, now Bentley. We have to give this plan a kickass name, like Operation: SuperAwesomeRescueMissionTor nado!"

"Well. I guess that's as good a name as any."

"Then it's settled." Murray struck a pose. Bentley proceeded to do the same.

"Let's get Operation: SuperAwesomeRescueMissionTor nado underway!"

* * *

**Are you looking forward to the next chapter? (yes you are!) Good. If you liked this chapter give it a review and wait 'til the next chapter full of excitement and joy. I'm not sure if I got the Spanish right, but I wrote each individual word one after another the way one would in English. If you want to know what Carmelita is saying, it's... probably best if you searched up the words for yourself. :P**


	4. SuperAwesomeRescueMission Tornado

**Chapter 4: Operation - SuperAwesomeRescueMission Tornado**

"Alright Murray, I'm in position" Bentley announced. "What's your status?" Murray punched his fist.

"The Murray is ready." He glared at the police officers who patrolled this singular wall.

"Good. All of the preparations are complete. It's time to begin Operation: SuperAwesomeRescueMission Tornado!"

"Alright!" Murray jeered

"You're up Murray. Give it your best shot." Bentley said over the radio.

"Will do Bentley." Murray smiled. He made his way over to the two officers standing guard. "Hey, what are you two 'ladies' doing?" He attempted to provoke them.

"Huh? Oh, we're not ladies, we're guys." One of the guards explained.

"Oh really. You look very lady like"

"Why thank you."

"What? That wasn't a compliment."

"I think I'll take it as one." The guard smiled. "After all, it's better to look at the glass as half-full, right?"

"Yeah." The other guard nodded.

"Besides, women have lots of good features." The first guard said. "Like…"

"They're pretty."

"They have nice hair."

"They tend to be much better bathed and groomed too."

"Yeah, I've seen a lot of guys with hygiene problems."

"Also women tend to be very elusive with their intentions and emotions. I bet that'd be handy."

"They also have attitude." The first guard waved his finger. "Know what I'm sayin' sister!?"

"I don't think that's how women talk."

"Oh really. I thought that's how all women in America talk."

"No, you just got that idea from that play that was on down in the theatre."

"Oh you saw it too!"

"I was sitting next to you when we watched it."

"Oh yeah. How silly of me. Wasn't that a great play!"

"It was! I liked then bit where…" Murray watched the two guards go back and forth in their nonsensical conversation.

"Hey guys! Don't ignore me!" Murray commanded.

"Huh?" The first guard said. "Oh sorry, I guess we got a little carried away." Murray calmed down and was about to speak when…

"Oh, I've just realized. We haven't introduced ourselves yet!" The second guard pointed out.

"I'm Desmond!" The first guard said.

"And I'm Richard!" The second guard said.

"Murray!" Murray immediately slammed both of the guards' heads together. "Nice to meet you." Both of the officers fell to the ground unconscious.

"Well done Murray!" Bentley came out of hiding. "Now you better take those officers somewhere they won't be found until they wake up."

"Done." Murray said as he dropped the officers behind a bush.

"Okay. I guess that'll work. Now let's see if I can calibrate these bombs just right so that… that should do it." Bentley placed three bombs on the wall in a triangle shape. Each bomb was half a metre apart from the others.

"What now Bentley?"

"Take this." Bentley handed Murray some goofy glasses and a moustache. He also put on his own moustache. "Now we look the part. Let's get into the station and begin our little diversion." He smiled as he adjusted his moustache. Murray was finding his disguise difficult to put on, however. The glasses slipped off his nose and the moustache wouldn't stick to his face. Eventually he had to settle for putting the glasses on upside down and wearing the moustache like hair. The two made it to the front of the station and proceeded to make their way inside. The lobby was quite clean looking and had a sort of authority like feel to it.

"I don't know if I like this Bentley." Murray whispered to his tortoise friend.

"It'll be fine Murray." Bentley whispered back. "All we have to do is stick to the plan and everything will go smoothly." He put on a worried expression as he reached the information desk.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" The receptionist asked.

"I'd like to report something horrible." Bentley over acted his shock. Murray rolled his eyes.

"Hmm? What would that b-?"

"We just saw some police officers get beat up by some thugs outside!" Bentley didn't even let the receptionist finish.

"Outside? Where did this take pl-"

"Just now, a couple of streets from the police station!" Bentley shouted in horror. He checked to see if the guards by the staff only door were looking. They were. Bentley smiled.

"Okay, just wait over there please." The receptionist pointed at the seats in the waiting area. She then picked up the office phone and dialled something in. "An assault has just been reported. It sounds bad. You better go check it out… Yeah, the man said that it happened recently, a couple of streets from here. Yep, yep. Thank you." She put the phone down and began to type on her computer. Two police officers came out of the staff door and quickly ran out of the police station.

"Bentley, the guards aren't moving." Murray pointed out.

"I know. That doesn't matter though. We'll get in another way." Bentley explained.

"How?"

"Just be patient. Remember, good things come to those who wait." Murray did not reply to this. After a short whiles wait a police officer beckoned the two into the staff only room. They followed behind him.

"Alright guys." The officer scratched the scruff on his chin and straightened out his moustache. "I'm gonna need to ask you a few questions about this assault you reported." He opened the interrogation room's door. "So which one of you wants to go…" He turned around to see that the Hippo and the Tortoise had disappeared. "…first. What the? Where the heck did they go?"

"Sargent Spike sir!" A police officer stood to attention.

"What is it officer? And stop acting like that, this isn't the army."

"Sorry sir. I erm… have some paper work Miss Carmelita wants you to fill out.

"Carmelita? Since when did she become the boss around here?"

"Sir, she's been captain for a few months now."

"Oh yeah." Spike flicked through the paper work. "Anyway, I'd better get started on this. You see if you can't find those witnesses." He began to walk away.

"Witnesses?" The police officer asked.

"Yes officer erm… what-cha-ma-call-its."

"Officer Biggins sir."

"Yeah. That's it."

"What was that you said about witnesses sir?"

"What. I didn't say anything about witnesses."

"Yes sir, you did."

"When?"

"Just now sir." Biggins said. Spike looked confused and he paused for a moment to recollect his memory.

"Oh yeah! The witnesses."

"Yes, you were saying something about them. What was it sir?"

"Yeah, there are a couple of guys who I was gonna ask some questions of. But I can't seem to find them anywhere."

"You lost them?!"

"No, I think they ran off." Spike scratched his head.

"What!? Should I sound the alarm sir?"

"No, no. It's fine. Besides, I think that this could be interesting."

"Interesting sir?"

"Just a feeling." Spike chuckled. "I think I'll leave the paperwork 'till later." He walked off and waved his hand back and forth. "I want to watch."

"Watch what? Sir." Biggins stood outside the interrogation room as the distance between him and spike became larger. "Sir?"

"Okay Murray, I'm outside Carmelita's office. Are you in position?"

"I'm right here Bentley." Murray stood next to his friend.

"Good." Bentley continued to pretend that he was talking to Murray through radio chat. "It's time to initiate the next part of my brilliant plan." He smiled. Bentley then wheeled himself over to Carmelita's office door and examined it. It was red with a golden fox head emblazoned on its centre. Other than that it seemed like a completely ordinary door. "Well, it's definitely locked, but it shouldn't take long to pick it." He cracked his fingers. "Now if I get just the right positioning, I'll be able to turn the lock just as if I had…" Murray slammed into the door and it swung wide open. This shocked Bentley. Murray then gestured for Bentley to go inside without saying anything. Bentley conceded and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Good work Murray. Just warn me next time, okay."

"Fine, but you'll have to do these things quicker. I don't need all of your explanations."

"You seem a little frustrated Murray." Bentley swiveled his wheelchair around to face his hippo ally.

"It's just that we're here to save our friend. I like our goofy individual styles, I really do." Murray frowned. "But right now, I'm gonna be completely serious. This is too important to be so casual about."

"I know, but it's also too important to get worked up over. We'll be much more efficient if we cool off and treat this like a regular mission. After all, that's how we got this far in the first place."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Now that we've got that out of the way, I'm going to need you to stand guard outside. If Carmelita comes back, warn me."

"The Murray will dominate this task!" Murray flexed and left Carmelita's office, shutting the door behind him.

"Alright then!" Bentley rubbed his hands as his robotic arms fixed the lock and locked the door shut. "That should do it. Now let's find those keys." He searched around the office. Under the desk, on the desk, inside, on top of and behind the bookshelf. He looked around the chair and around the safe.

"Uh, Bentley." Murray sounded over the radio.

"Yes." Bentley cringed as he quickly searched every nook and cranny in the office.

"Carmelita just walked around the corner. She's coming this way!" Bentley froze. "Stall her."

"How?"

"Just talk to her or something. I need more time to find those keys!"

"Excuse me?" Carmelita asked. "You're not supposed to be up here."

"Uh…" Murray looked sided to side. "I'm uh… looking for the restroom."

"The restroom. Then why didn't you use the one by the lobby?"

"Because I uh…" Murray twiddled his fingers. Carmelita looked over the hippo. He looked strange. He wore his glasses upside down and had a funny looking haircut. Yet somehow he looked familiar. "I was going to the room where you get asked questions because I was a witness for this 'thing' and when I got into the office; I went to look for the bathroom but I got lost on the way."

"And you somehow made your way over here?" Carmelita asked. The hippo nodded. "Right… Erm… Have we met before?" Murray froze.

"N-No. I don't think that we've ever met before." He put on a much deeper voice. "Anyway could you direct… Me… to the 'restroom'."

"Murray!" Bentley shouted over the radio. "I can't believe I didn't realize before! The door was locked after all! Carmelita has the keys on her! You'll need to pry them from her somehow."

"I don't know…" Murray said nervously.

"Don't know what?" Carmelita asked. Murray froze again.

"I don't know… where the restrooms are."

"They're down the stairs, to the right, exit the hallway and it'll be the first set of doors on your left."

"Thank you." Murray dashed off.

"Damn. I need to get this window open." Bentley pulled on one of the office windows just as the door handle began to turn. "Oh no!" He began to pull harder. "It's stuck!"

"Oh, silly me." Carmelita smiled. "I forgot that I locked it." She stuck the key in and turned it. The door wouldn't budge. "This key seems a little stickier than normal." She turned the key several more times and twisted the handle.

*Click*

"There we go." She opened the door and looked into her office. She froze. Right there, in her office was… Sly's calling card resting on her desk. Carmelita immediately checked her office to see if anything was stolen. It was then that she realized what had happened. She checked her keys. One was missing. She had a look of horror on her face, then frustration, then anger. "Slyyyyyyyyy!" She ran out of her office.

"Wow Bentley" Murray said as he finished climbing down from one of the windows. "I sure am glad you showed me what the key looked like, otherwise I would have never known which one to take."

"Indeed." Bentley beckoned Murray to follow. "Now we get in position and wait."

* * *

Sly rested on his bed as guards swarmed the area outside his cell. Carmelita stood directly outside of the cell, facing the racoon.

"That's a lot of guards. What's the event Carmelita?"

"You know what's going on Sly. Your friends are trying to rescue you, but they'll fail. There is no way that they'll ever get past all of these guards."

"So my pals have made their move have they?" Sly stood up and walked in front of the fox, close enough that he was nearer to her than the back wall, but not close enough that she could grab him through the bars. "You sure you can keep me from escaping."

"One-hundred per-cent."

"Would you bet a kiss on it?" Sly smiled. He just stood there, smiling."

"I don't see how you could ever get out, so sure. I'll bet a kiss, but if you lose, you have to give up crime forever after you finally get out of jail."

"That's not such an exciting bet, but I accept." Sly stood facing Carmelita and his smile grew wider.

'What is he up to?' She thought.

*KABOOM!* The wall exploded from behind Sly. Carmelita stuck her arm in front of her face for protection, and then retracted it. She couldn't believe what she saw. "Sly" She snarled.

"See you later Carmelita." Sly waved her goodbye.

"Someone get this cell door open!" Carmelita shouted. Sly climbed over the rubble and took one last glance at Carmelita.

"Oh, and I'll be expecting that kiss you bet." He smiled and then ran.

"Sly!" Carmelita shouted. She grabbed the metal bars and snarled in frustration. She then, for a moment, cracked a small smile. "Sly." She sighed.

The gang ran through the wood-like area at the back of the Police station with incredible pace.

"Hey, thanks for busting me out!" Sly grinned.

"Well we couldn't leave you to rot in a jail cell. The cooper thieves would collapse without you." Bentley explained. "Besides…"

"You're our friend." Murray smiled. The three smiled and laughed as they made their escape. They wondered what lay in wait for their future. What adventures would they embark on next? What sights would they see? This happy time in their escape was to be short lived however. As they exited the wood-like area they came upon a road filled with police cars and Interpol officers. They even had a helicopter. Sly turned back only to see more officers come out from behind the trees. He turned once more to see the police filled road ahead. Bentley and Murray stared at the officer in the center of the commotion. It was the police officer who they had given the slip before. Sergeant Spike produced a packet of cigars from one of his pockets and took one out. He lit it with his lighter. Spike then inhaled and blew out some smoke.

"You kids never learn, do you?"

* * *

**Wow, this chapter took a while to get out. My apologies. College stuff. Anyway, hope that you're enjoying this story so far. Also, just to let you know, Officers Desmond, Richard, Biggins and Sergeant spike will all feature in the story as main characters. BTW won't let me use Tornado joined up with the SuperAwesomeRescueMission bit. If anyone knows why, please tell me as it does this with a few other things too.**


	5. Something strange

**Chapter 5: Something strange**

Sly looked for an escape route. He looked for a gap in the police's defense a tree in the line of fire, a blind spot, a shadow to crawl in. There was no escape route this time. No means of escape, no way to freedom.

"You kids never learn, do you?" Sergeant Spike asked rhetorically. He blew out some smoke and began to shout. "You are completely surrounded. Give up now and I promise that no harm will come to you or your friends! I must remind you that if you do not surrender, I have been given permission to use lethal force! Give up!"

'Lethal force?!' Sly thought to himself. 'We're just thieves. Why the hell are they allowed to kill us?' He looked down at the ground and smiled. 'He's bluffing. That's what he's doing. There's no way that he'd have permission to kill a trio of thieves. Even if he was, he wouldn't get permission so quickly. We can get out of this alive if we cut down the side.' "Sorry old timer, but we have places to go, things to steal." He signaled the others to follow him and prepared to run.

"Fine. Men… Open fire!"

"What!?" Sly said to himself. 'He really is going to shoot us. This is bad!' Police began pulling the triggers of their pistols and rifles. All aimed directly at the cooper gang, making sure not to put another cop in the line of fire. Not that it would matter, since all of their guns were jammed.

"What's going on?!" Spike growled. "I said fire damn it." He snatched a rifle from one of his men and pointed it at cooper. He pulled the trigger several times, but nothing happened.

"Quick guys! Now's our chance!" Sly and the gang made a run for it, police on their tail. "We'll have to split up if we want to escape. I'll meet you back at the hideout." The other two nodded and split off to the sides. All three of them took separate routes.

"What the hell just happened?" Spike asked himself as he checked over the rifle. He fired off a shot into the sky. The gun was only temporarily jammed. What could have possibly happened to have jammed all of the guns at the same time? Spike looked up to see a disappointed Carmelita Fox staring him in the face.

"You let him escape." She said plainly as she crossed her arms. Spike shook his head. "You mean like you've done a thousand times?" Carmelita scoffed at this comment. "Look Carmel, if I hadn't taken things into my own hands, Sly would have escaped indefinitely. However, something jammed all of the guns, allowing him to escape." Spike admitted. "Guess I should have thought of a back-up plan." He frowned. Carmelita looked at the rifle in Spike's hands.

"Did you have to try and kill him? It seems a little extreme." Carmelita placed her hands on her hips and grimaced.

"You clearly haven't done your homework." Spike said.

"What do you mean?"

"Your 'former flame'…" Carmelita growled at that comment. "… has been named an enemy of the country."

"What!?"

"Just as I said. He's caused so much trouble that the government want him gone. His total stolen loot amounts to the kind of money that could be used to build entire fleets of ships or to build a few skyscrapers. A lot of the stolen stuff isn't from France. Some are even from countries that we don't consider being our friends. However, Sly hails from France. Some people are beginning to think that he's one of our agents."

"That's insane."

"Insane or not, it's making the government look bad. They want Sly out of the picture."

"They want him dead just so they can look good?!" Carmelita questioned.

"You're attitude tells me that you don't like what you're hearing." Spike frowned. "Meet me in the discussion room at HQ. I'll tell you everything you need to know." He shoved the rifle into her hands and began to walk off. "Oh and Carmel…"

"What." She asked, annoyed.

"The CIA is American, not French. Next time you lie, lie right."

Sly made his way over the rooftops. He could see for a miles from all the way up here.

"What a view. He said to himself." Sly proceeded to jump to the next rooftop and climb around it. "The cooper hideout shouldn't be too far from here." He looked over Paris. "At least I don't think it is." He reached the other side and climbed up. Before he jumped to the next building, he paused to think about prior events. Sly looked at the bandages that covered his body. "What happened to me? Carmelita said that I was shot. But I can't remember being shot. Last thing I remember was being at the hideout and then a fuzzy memory of walking up to Interpol HQ." He looked at the next building and judged the distance. "I should be able to make it if I use my cane." His eyes grew wider. He then looked over his garment (which were bandages and an orange shirt) and looked at his hand. "Wait a sec… I forgot my stuff!"

Murray took to the streets. This did not prove beneficial to escaping from the pigs (You think I'm using that as a slang word for cops? I'm actually being literal). The police chased him down several roads, picking up other patrols as they did so. The horde of cops chasing Murray was progressively getting larger as time passed on. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 etc. It was surprising how many cops were patrolling such a small area. Then again, maybe Murray had just run further than he thought he did. In any case, he had to find a way of losing them, and fast. Or perhaps there was another way of dealing with this situation. Murray immediately turned into the nearest back alley and stopped at the end. The thin walls of the alley forced the cops to funnel through in two lines of men. However, this did not matter to the pink hippo whatsoever. He allowed the policemen to completely surround him, save the far wall that he faced. Peeking over his shoulder at the officers of law, Murray turned to face them and cracked his fists.

"No man is a match for… THE MURRAY!" He punched his fist.

Bentley had gone into the sewer system in order to escape from the cops. They were prepared for this however and had patrols wandering around in different sections of the sewer.

"I've got to be careful." Bentley said to himself as he zoomed down the different passages. It wasn't long before Bentley came across one of the patrols. There were only two of them, but you can't be two careful. Bentley used one of his robotic arms to throw an object at them. It landed dead centre between them. The two cops looked down at the object, confused. The object then began to spew gas, causing the cops to quickly pass out. "It worked!" Bentley cheered. The tortoise quickly made his way through the next set of passages. "Oh man, it stinks down here!" Bentley waved his hand around and held his nose. "I better get out of here quickly, before I pass out." He wheeled his way towards the nearest exit, only to find four more police officers waiting idly by the ladder. Bentley reached for another gas grenade, but found that he'd come ill prepared. After all, he hadn't foreseen this occurrence… occurring. He had no darts and no fancy equipment other than his radar and P.D.I that were built into his wheelchair. It was time to do things the old fashioned way.

Sly opened the vault containing his personal belongings and left a 'little present' in its place. His call-card. However, just as he was about to make his exit, he felt something cold press against the back of his head. It was the barrel of a gun. And not just any gun. It was a special type of gun used by the one and only… Carmelita Fox. Sly raised his arms in the air.

"Miss Fox." Sly said acting surprised. He turned his head slightly, but not enough to see Carmelita.

"Ringtail." She replied.

"So what happens now? Do you capture the 'nasty criminal' and send me to jail?"

"As much as I would like to do that, it's not in my power."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Sly turned around so that he was facing her.

"You're in trouble Sly. Big trouble. Trust me, in any other case I would be glad to have you locked up for how knows long."

"Thanks." Sly said sarcastically.

"But in this case you might…" She frowned deeply and lowered her gun. "Get out of here sly." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"Just go!" Carmelita shouted as she took a shot at the wall next to sly.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" He smiled. Sly climbed his way up one of the walls and made his way out of a hole he had made. Carmelita began to stare at the hole for a while, then sighed and began to leave.

"I thought as much." A voice sounded. Carmelita looked around for the owner of said voice. "Up here." The voice was gruff and manly, yet sounded like it was from a man well into his years. Inspector Fox looked up at a small ledge on the wall. On it sat Sergeant Spike.

"Were you spying on me?" Carmelita asked.

"No, but I still know what you did." He looked down at her. You could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"Oh? And what would that b-"

"You understand that I'll be compiling a report on this." Spike interrupted/

"Compiling? You make it sound like you're…"

"Yes. This isn't the first time that you've voluntarily let Sly go. In fact, you even got him a job at Interpol once, didn't you? Sneaking a criminal into Government property and Law enforcement. Honestly Carmelita, what did you think was going to happen? Did you think that the Government was going to give you a promotion for letting a renowned criminal run loose and you could both run into the sunset surrounded by unicorns and bunnies… no offence Ralph."

"None taken." The vault guard replied.

"Listen Carmelita. I don't enjoy bringing out the worst in people, but in this case it can't be helped. You were a credit to your uniform; at least you would be if you wore one." He chuckled. "Sorry, bad joke. Anyway, the point it, your beginning to become an obstruction of justice rather than its enforcer. I'll see to it that you don't get another chance to screw up."

The gang relaxed at their hideout after a successful job.

"It sure was nice of Carmelita to let you go like that." Murray smiled.

"Yeah." Sly lay on his back and looked up at the ceiling. "Something didn't seem right though. That's not like Carmelita. Plus everything went so smoothly. Too smooth if you ask me."

"How can you call that mission smooth?" Bentley asked as he wheeled himself over to his raccoon friend. "There were so many unexpectancies it was like a surprise party. A frighteningly lethal surprise party."

"Yeah, but every time something else popped up, it would just lay down flat and let us trample over it. The guns jamming, Carmelita letting me go on a moment's notice. Something has to be wrong."

"Maybe it has something to do with your amnesia." Bentley said. He examined Sly purely through vision. "Perhaps something happened that you don't remember. Something important."

"What did happen?" Murray asked. "You were gone for a long while before Bentley found you. "Where were you?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. But it's our closest bet." Sly sat up and grinned. "So we're going to find out." He smile slowly faded. "But where do we start? I can't remember anything besides collapsing."

"That may be an easier choice to make than we had initially thought." Bentley explained. Sly turned to face him, as did Murray. "I just opened my computer in order to start looking for an answer to that question and I just received a message.

"Who's it from?" Sly asked.

"It doesn't say. But it does say that we should look for 'The Grey Fox' if we want to get answers. Although it doesn't say where to find him. However, it shouldn't take too long to find him if I do a full sweep of the internet and shave my findings down to the priority files and add in some criteria that might help. I think that this is the perfect chance to use that new software I've been making!"

"Bentley." Sly said.

"I could also try and…"

"Bentley." Murray said.

"Maybe if I hack into Interpol's systems, I could use their…"

"Bentley!" Sly and Murray shouted.

"What?" Bentley asked. Sly stuck a finger to the monitor and scrolled down the page. And surely, there it was… A link to a map of the facility where 'The Grey Fox' resided. "Oh, how did you know that was there?"

"It had a file attached to the email."

"Oh, my bad. I must have missed it." Bentley twiddled his thumbs, embarrassed. Sly and Murray shook their heads and smiled.

* * *

**Next chapter is when the 'real' stuff starts. R&R and I'll see you next time.**


	6. The Grey Fox

**Chapter 6: The Grey Fox**

"Damn, it's hot in here!" Sly said over the comm. One foot in front of the other, then bring the left arm forward and lean on the right, then change.

"Be careful Sly! It looks like there's a big drop ahead of you!" Bentley warned his raccoon friend.

"Right." Sly acknowledged as he grimaced. "Of course there is." He mumbled.

"What was that, Sly?"

"Nothing." Sly panted as the intense heat took a toll on his body. It wouldn't have been so high, but to Sly, it felt like 100 degrees. "Bentley." Sly looked down the drop. It must have been about ten metres. "Remind me why I'm crawling around in the vents."

"You're crawling around in the ventilation system because there is no other way in."

"Couldn't we have just knocked on the door or something?"

"We don't know whether this 'Grey Fox' is friendly or not. We have to be careful. The schematics say that the specific ventilation shaft that you're in is one of the only ones that haven't been bugged to trigger alarms whenever they sense motion. It also looks like the main foyer is riddled with traps. This is the only you can get in without setting one of those alarms off."

"Don't we want him to know that I'm…" *Urrgh* Sly said as he landed at the bottom of the drop. The vents made an uncomforting creaking sound as he did so. "… here?" Sly ducked and checked the next corner. It looked a little too narrow to fit around. "After all, we want to talk with him, don't we?"

"Yes, but as I said…" Bentley pushed his glasses up his snout. "… we don't know whether he's going to play nice. If he finds you before you find him, things could end badly." Sly continued to squeeze himself around the corner. It was a tight fit, but he made it all the way around… and into a dead end.

"Umm…" Sly almost tried to get up but stopped himself before he hit his head. "I've hit a dead end."

"What? That's impossible!" Bentley replied. "The schematics say that shaft goes on for another twelve metres before another turn."

"Nope. Dead end."

"I see. Well then, I guess you're on your own, Sly."

"What!?"

"I can't trust these schematics. Either the 'Grey fox' has made adjustments or the schematics were always wrong. Either way, it's too dangerous to follow these…"

"Hey, I see something!" Sly looked through a grate to his side. A small room was beyond it. There were small lights all over the place. Sly kicked the grate out and lowered himself from the ventilation shaft."

"Wait Sly, you have to… b… don…"

"Bentley?" Sly tapped his ear piece.

"Sl… b… c…ful… there's a go… it … that room…. Inter…. ence… keep… t… d… d… mine…" Suddenly a burst of white noise shot through the ear piece, causing Sly to pull it out of his ear."

"Perfect." He said to himself. Looking around the room, he could see a few monitors hooked up to the walls and a big control centre on the far wall. The room was about five by five metres big and the walls only shot up for three. On Sly's left was a different coloured wall with foggy glass running across it at head height. A door lay at the end of it. Sly turned his attention to the control centre. It was on and shined a bright light from its multiple monitors. However, Sly refused to touch it. He was no electronics expert and as Bentley said, it was probably rigged with bugs ready to set the alarms off. Sly looked around once more. There seemed to be a lot of seemingly useless L.E.D lights about. He shrugged his shoulders and made for the door at the far end of the left wall. The hallway was way creepier than he had thought it would have been. There weren't any intentionally spooky things about. Just a dark, metallic hallway which seemed more ominous than it did practical.

'Bentley said that this place used to be a sewage cleaning facility. Why would someone want to live in an abandoned sewage plant?" Sly gagged at the thought. He moved through the hallways with all the sneakiness he had in him (which was VERY sneaky). Tiptoeing on the cold hard floor, a thought crossed Sly's mind. 'What was the point in setting up a control centre in a random room in a section of the facility which had no lights?' Sly looked back. It was brighter down there because of the L.E.D's. It was dark where he was standing. Very dark. He immediately made a run for the room and skidded to a halt right outside of the door. Staring at it for just a moment, he sighed and said… "Guess one try won't hurt." Sly turned the handle, only to find that it wouldn't budge. He turned it again. Then another time. He tried again and again but it wouldn't budge. By the end of it he became so frustrated that he began pushing on the door as he attempted to force the handle to turn. This caused him to fall into the room with a crash as he succeeded to pull the handle down. Sly quickly got up and brushed himself off. "Not the smoothest entrance I've ever had, but…" he looked at the control centre. Its monitors still glowed bright blue. Sly smiled as he pressed a button on the keypad. "Let's see what this does." He grinned as he awaited all of the useful data that this control centre could bear. The monitors switched off and the power from the console disappeared. All that was left to light up the room were the L.E.D lights. Sly stared blankly at the equally blank monitor before him. "You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

"Oh dear. This is bad." Bentley panicked.

"What is it Bentley?" Murray asked.

"Someone, and I don't know who, is doing a data mine on all of my files and I can't stop them. No kind of counter measure is able to stop it. I can't trace the signal either."

"Does that mean they're gonna find out where our hideout is?" The pink hippo asked.

"I think they already know." Murray replied. "If this was a long distance hack, I'd be able to deal with it, no problem. This has to be local." He frowned. "Murray, find me the bug."

"What kind of bug."

"It's a mechanical bug. One that this hacker is using to mine through my computer. That has to be how they're doing it." He turned his wheel chair around to face Murray. "Take this and go… go!" Murray grabbed the scanner and ran off in search of the bug. Bentley turned his chair back around to face the laptop and he waggled his fingers. "Alright, Mr Hacker. Let's see what you've got!"

* * *

Sly strode across the dark hallways in search of the main room that the 'Grey Fox' would be residing in. The hallways were long, dark and creepy. But sly didn't seem to mind. After all the time he had spent walking through them, he had gotten used to the ominous feeling the hallways had and his eyes had adjusted. Whistling as he went, Sly hit a slow, yet well-paced stride, his arms behind his head.

'What a gloomy place.' He thought to himself as he looked around. All of the hallways looked alike and they were all just as dark and boring. Yet for some reason, each hallway seemed creepier than the last. They were identical yet… It was as if it was a sign. A feeling that he was coming close to something. The Grey Fox perhaps? Sly's attention turned to a room branching off from the centre of the current hallway. This hallway seemed longer. That room would have been the last if this were the same length as the other hallways. Plus there was a strange, faint light emitting from that room. Sly returned his arms to their original positions and became more alert. He leaned in forward and crept towards the room with grace and speed, stopping with his back against the wall where it met the door frame. He peered into the room. A tall man stood close to the left side of the room, where the wall was extended the furthest. He was surrounded by monitors. Sly slipped into the room seemingly unnoticed whilst the man mumbled something to himself. It sounded kind of like he was trying to solve some sort of problem. As Sly examined the man from a closer range, he could make out his features more clearly. He was a tall, old, grey fox who wore some sort of black jacket and trousers with a large piece of cloth that looked too thin to be a cape hanging down from his back. Sly prepared to catch the man off guard. "Foun-"

"Ah, you're finally here. It took you long enough." The grey fox said without turning his head. The man's voice sounded like that of an old man. It was refined and slightly frail, yet it seemed too gruff to belong to someone of his age. Sly hesitated for a second. Then he replied.

"You knew I was coming?"

"Of course I did." The man answered instantly. "I sent you the message." Sly frowned. This guy was on his side after all. All the sneaking around had been for nothing. At least it seemed that way. "You know…" The old man started. He turned to face the raccoon and sighed. "You could have just come through the front door. There was no need to go clambering through the vents." Sly slumped.

"You serious." He sighed heavily, and then realized something. "Wait a sec… Bent… an associate of mine told me that there were traps in the foyer."

"The turtle? Of course… Of course he did." The fox turned back to face the monitors. "I must have sent him one of the fake schematics."

"You keep face maps of this place?"

"Of course I do." The man chuckled. "You can't be too careful when you're a master thief." He turned back around and smiled.

"You're a master thief too?!" Sly exclaimed, shocked.

"Too? That implies that you are a master thief." The man began laughing.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Sly said as he angrily pointed his cane at the old man. The fox stopped laughing, but his smiled stayed.

"The way you simply strolled up to this place. You might think that you're sneaky but I had you tagged by the time you came within half a kilometre of this place!"

"Right." Sly returned to his ordinary, smirking expression. "I guess you haven't heard about my previous exploits then?"

"Exploits? You mean blowing up giant robot birds? That's hardly thievery."

"I meant my other exploits." Sly crossed his arms.

"I know what you've done. It's impressive, it really is." The grey fox turned to face the monitors and many images and videos of Sly's adventures and heists appeared. "However, I am yet to be impressed." The man turned back around and the images and videos disappeared. "No offense." He gestured with his hand. Sly took a step back and looked over the man. He must be at least half a metre taller than sly.

"So you said that you could give me some answers."

"Yes. I suppose these past events must have been quite confusing. Infuriating perhaps?" The grey fox held his hands behind his back. Sly nodded.

"I lost my memory. All I can remember was a lot of blood and collapsing outside of the police station… That is what you can tell me about right."

"Yes. They said that you had amnesia, but I didn't think that it would be this bad." He scratched his chin.

"They?"

"My contacts."

"Right, so… What can you tell me about the events from before all that happened?"

"You were shot." The fox put plainly.

"I know that. Carm… Officer Fox told me."

"Perhaps, but you didn't tell me that you knew that you were shot. I was just trying to fill in the gaps. And please, don't hold back on the names of others. I already know everything there is to know about your contacts. Bentley, Murray and 'Miss Fox'…" He gestured with his fingers. "… included."

"Fair enough."

"Good. Now, you were shot by a trained assassin who goes by the name of Dante." Images of a blue Hawk appeared on the screen. He wore a white jacket with a wire vest underneath. He also wore black trousers and boots. His eyes were sharp and so was his demeanour. He didn't look very friendly though. He was frowning in every image. "This man shot you on orders of an organization known as Black cat." A large black and yellow symbol appeared on the central monitor. Sly looked at it carefully. It wasn't exactly what you'd call an intricate pattern. It was just a few lines swirling around and ending up into a circle with the rest trailing off to the left. "I believe the members of this group, which is most likely to consist of a leader and a small number of lieutenants with many henchmen, have motives which do not agree with average moral standards. Not that thievery is morally just, but these guys are planning something devious. I believe it is in both our best interests to work against them.

"So what, now you're just gonna send me on missions. I came here for answers, not work."

"But these 'missions' are where your answers lay."

"Look here, buddy!" Sly pointed his cane at the old man once more. "You promised me answers. I don't want to go gallivanting off on another adventure to ruin the plot of some gangsters, I just want to find this 'Dante' guy and sort things out. I don't care much for revenge, payback, whatever you want to call it."

"What are you going to do with that?" The fox looked down at Sly's cane. "Swish the air with it?" He chuckled.

"What?" Sly looked confused and relaxed his arms slightly. The fox fizzled a little. His form waved around a little. Sly slowly stuck his cane through the old man and the hologram flailed about violently, returning to normal once Sly retracted his cane. "A hologram?"

"You didn't think I'd meet you in person did you? A master thief has to be careful." He laughed again. "I don't know where Dante is, but I have a lead. Find a certain someone who calls themselves 'Puss in Boots'. We believe him to be one of the lieutenants. He may be able to lead you to Dante. Do whatever you wish from then on. You know where to contact me if you reconsider my offer." The hologram began to fizzle out.

"Wait!" Sly jumped forward, but it was too late. The grey fox had disappeared. The monitors also turned off soon after. After a few seconds, there was only the faint light of a few L. that were dotted around the room. Sly looked down at his cane and twirled it. "Puss in boots, huh? You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

Carmelita backed down an alleyway, making sure that no one could see her doing it. Once she was sure that she was far down enough that no one would hear her, she continued to speak to her associate.

"So you found him. Thanks. I know that Sly is a hard guy to track down, but you've never let me down before, so… Of course, I understand. Thanks. You're a good friend Julian."

* * *

**So yeah, that was the grey fox. Hope you aren't to unhappy with the time it took to get this chapter up on the site. I'm in the middle of my Exams. However, they'll be over in a few weeks, so I can speed up with the updates :) Hope you're looking forward to meeting Puss in Boots 'cause I'm gonna enjoy writing the chapter(s). If you haven't left a review yet, try leaving one. Tell me what you think of the style of the story and maybe your hopes for what you will see in future chapters. More Sergeant Spike? More Julian and Neyla? Or perhaps you wish to see more of Bentley and Murray. Should I keep with the darker theme this story is travelling along or should I try a more traditional approach to Sly's adventures? Go on. Tell me!**


	7. Infiltration

**Chapter 7: Infiltration**

Sly sat back into his seat, relaxing with what time he had before his arrival at the old fort. The van bumped on the rocky terrain that seemed to be an excuse for a road. The raccoon sighed and looked down at the tablet in his hands. It contained a heavy chunk of information on the so called 'puss in boots'. Bentley left no detail out. At least, no detail that he could find. There was a lot of information missing about their feline adversary. He was a hard guy to track down, even for Bentley. Sly skimmed through the information once more and read some of it aloud.

"Puss in boots. We don't know his real name, but that's apparently what he goes by these days. Back before his involvement with 'Black Cat', he used to be an expertise fencer and won many tournaments involving swordplay. However, his dream has always to be an actor and a dancer. Unfortunately, he was never any good at either. Ridiculed for his over acting and terrible dancing, he was told to keep his footwork in his fencing career. Angered with society for ruining his only chance at his dream, he turned to crime, putting his incredible footwork and swordplay to more devious uses. Sometime after, he joined the criminal organization 'Black Cat'. Ever since then, he had operated out of a makeshift base located at an old abandoned fort."

"Sounds about right." Bentley turned his head to look at Sly. The tortoise sat in the passenger seat, next to Murray, who was driving. "He sounds like a bit of a head case." Bentley twirled his index finger around the temple on the side of his head. Sly looked down at the tablet. Even with the rest of the information, they still had no idea what this guy looked like.

'Why couldn't that grey fox guy have just told me where to find this boot wearing cat?'

"Sly." Bentley said to get his attention. Sly looked up from the tablet and switched it off. "Remember. We still don't know what this guy is gonna be like. But if he's with the group who ordered the hit on you, then we can assume he's not gonna let us just stroll in. So I've devised a…"

"Whoa, whoa!" Sly backed into his seat a little more. "Last time, we didn't need your plan. It only slowed me down."

"Last time, I was given fake schematics and…"

"I am not crawling through vents again!"

"Sly, there's…"

"We're here." Murray interrupted as the fort came into view. Sly immediately looked out of the window and smiled. He opened the door and dodge rolled out of the van.

"SLYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Bentley shouted. His voice got quieter as the van got further away. Sly stood up and brushed himself off.

"This time we do things my way." Murray slowed down to a halt and looked out of his window. He couldn't see Sly anywhere behind them.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to help her find Sly?" Neyla asked. She walked over to Julian, who was sitting down and reading a book. It was brown with a gold colour cross on it.

"Yeah." Julian replied as he flicked through the pages. "I didn't drag you back to base, so that we can't go forward with the plan. You shouldn't run off in search of Cooper like that." Neyla snorted at this remark.

"I could have easily taken him down."

"Right now, you're more useful as my asset, here in the base."

"Sure, whatever. Just let me know when it's time to kick his ass." Neyla frowned.

"Yeah." He grinned as he tried not to laugh. Neyla eyeballed him.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"This book." Julian turned another page. The thick hard back was obviously a Bible.

"Why is that funny? It's a religious book."

"This concept of God." Julian flicked another page across.

"You find God funny?"

"I find any concept of immortal beings funny." The wolf pulled a grin (a wolfish grin). He suddenly looked up as if he had just realized something. "That reminds me. How are those new implants handling?" He snapped the book close.

* * *

Sly crept through the bushes on the outskirts of the fort. It looked pretty heavily guarded, so rushing in wouldn't be an option. However, the outside of the fort seemed deserted. Cooper continued to make his way around the walls of the enormous structure until he found a large crack in the wall. Spotting his chance, the raccoon backed up against the stone wall and peered through the hole. On the other side was a mass off guards in simple t-shirts and shorts. They were all pretty similar in appearance. Boars with large tusks, running around and getting supplied to different stone buildings that had been renovated to become fully functioning parts of the base. There was even an old medieval tavern that had been renovated for a clear purpose. One of the boars was standing right next to the opening in the wall, his back to Sly. The guy was clearly taking a break, or skipping out on work. Sly began to move closer so that he could take the guard out, but flinched and moved back into the cover of the wall when he saw another guard approaching. Sly braved up enough to take another slight peak into the fort. This guy was different. He was much taller and bulkier than the boars. He wore some sort of Spanish get up and had a large frown on his face. As the man got closer to the lazy guard, it was clearer that he was, in fact, a leopard. Sly was a little worried. This guy was easily twice his height, if not taller. His muscles were pretty large too. The leopard stopped in front of the gaping hole and Sly backed against the wall and discontinued his peeking session. His heart raced as he hoped the man would not find him. The large man opened his mouth.

"What the hell are you doing here?" His voice was not as deep as Sly had imagined. Nor was it grizzly. It was smooth and actually pretty easy on the ears. The guy sounded only in his early twenties. It was an odd voice for his size. The boar immediately straightened up. "You're supposed to be helping out with the stage equipment."

'Stage equipment?' Sly thought to himself.

"I-I'm sorry sir. I just… I"

"I don't want to hear excuses. Chris won't be happy with your slacking off."

'Chris? Is that 'Puss in boots' name?' The raccoon wondered.

"I'm sorry . I'll get right on it."

"No. It's too late now. The stage is nearly done. Since you're already here, how about you get that hole fixed up." He pointed at the gaping hole in the stone wall. Sly froze.

"Y-yes sir!" The boar immediately ran off to find materials. Ruppi sighed and slicked back his black hair with his hand. The leopard turned to walk away and breathed in the fresh air. Then his nose twitched. He smelt something. Sly peered around the corner, thinking that this was his chance to creep in, just as he saw the bulky leopard turn back around. Sly threw his head out of the way and stuck to the wall like glue. Ruppi stared at the hole for a few seconds, an inquisitive look on his face. Then he shook his head and smiled, turning back around and walking away. Then he slowed to a halt and wondered. Ruppi immediately turned back around and marched up to the hall, a need to sate his curiosity. He was sure he smelled something. The Spanish looking leopard reached the hole and stood before it for a while before placing his hand on the side, his fingers touching the outer wall. Sly looked and the gigantesque hand millimeters away from him, his mouth gaping wide, struggling not to make a sound. Ruppi slowly peered out of the hole and looked to his right, where his hand was. He looked down to see a tiny mouse scuttling around and squeaking. Other than that, only long grass and bushed were visible. Ruppi looked out over the horizon to see an orange hue dash the green fields in its ambiance. He admired the view. Sly struggled to cling onto the stone wall directly above the hole. He looked down at the top of the leopard's head and almost squealed as his cane rattled on the copper ring that protruded out of the wall above him. Sly held onto his staff and pressed his feet against the wall, forcing his body to move outwards. The raccoon struggled to stay still whilst clinging to the ring with his staff. Ruppi sighed and retracted his body back into the fort. Disappointed, yet relieved, he made his way deeper into the complex. Sly sighed heavily and relaxed his body, causing his cane to move a little and thus the copper ring (and the stone brick it was attached to) came loose and fell to the ground along with the thief. Ruppi stopped and turned to face to hole again. This time he was at least fifty meters away. Sly clung to the ground like butter to bread and hoped the long grass would cover him. Ruppi stared at the hole for a second before returning to his stroll. Sly breathed out heavily and crawled around in the long grass for a while. He could not be paid to sneak through the gap in the wall. Besides, he had a better idea. Sly looked up at the wall.

* * *

"This was a terrible idea." Sly struggled to hold onto his cane as he latched onto another ring. He must be at least a hundred meters off the ground by now. "Crap." Cooper thought to himself. I remember when one of my ancestors did this. I didn't think it'd be so hard. He jumped to the next one. "Still. It got me somewhere." He looked around himself. Somehow, he had made his way up one of the towers rather than the wall. Luckily though, this fort was one of the really old ones that had square towers, so it was harder for guards to spot him from around the corners. Eventually, Sly reached the top of the tower and clambered over the wall and landed on the roof. He brushed himself down again. "I'm never doing that again." Looking up, he saw one of the boars standing in front of him, awe shocked.

"HEEL…!" Sly hit him around the head with his cane before the guard could call for help.

"That was close."

"SLY!" A voice shouted, piercing his left ear.

"Oww! What? Bentley?!" Sly asked, remembering that he had an earpiece.

"I can't believe you ran off like that. If I didn't have a back-up plan, we'd have to abort this mission. Remember Sky, we have to work as a…" Sly pulled the ear piece out and flicked it off the tower and into the grass below.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Doesn't mean I can't do this by myself for once." After standing around for a while, Sly began to regret discarding his earpiece. "Then again, I could have done with some of your useful advice." Sly Cooper looked over the side of the tower and into the fort. It was a mess of buildings and boars. It didn't look like the Ruppi guy was anywhere near, so that was a start. The thief scanned the area for possible places that 'Puss in boots could be hiding at. Most of the buildings were small and insignificant, but there was a large wooden gate near the back. Behind it was an array of lights and stage equipment. "Didn't the leopard say something about a stage?" Sly took out his binoculars and zoomed in. Sure enough, there was a large stage with a pretty professional setup. It was surrounded by the ruins of some sort of coliseum area at the back of the fort. "Great. That's gotta be where this 'Chris' guy is." Sly dropped his binoculars and looked around him. "Now for a way down." He scratched his chin.

"CAW!" An eagle sounded. "CAW!" Sly looked straight ahead to see a v-shaped wooden platform branching off the top of the tower. On top of it sat an eagle. It looked at him anxiously. "CAW! CAW!" Sly scratched the back of his head. Was it trying to talk to him? "CAW!" The bird took flight and circled the tower slowly. Sly looked at it for a while before returning his attention to the platform. He slowly placed one foot on it, then the other, cautiously balancing himself as he walked to its edge. He kneeled down at the end and looked around. He could see for miles from here. The stage was much clearer too. Though it was still far away. He had to find a way of getting down first. Sly peered over the edge to see an unusually large and conveniently placed haystack in the courtyard below him. "Maybe that'll work." He thought to himself. The thief stood up on the edge of the platform and prepared to jump off the edge and into the haystack, performing a sort of diving motion. He then relaxed. "No, that's a stupid idea. That haystack wouldn't break my fall. Only an idiot would make that jump." He turned to step off the platform, only to see the eagle fly towards him and push him off the edge.

"CAW!" It spread its talons and rammed Sly off the platform and into a free fall.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

* * *

**Hope you get the reference. Both of them. (The ledge/haystack is one and Ruppi is another). Reviews please (I like to get feed back so that I know whether I'm taking the story in the right direction). Also sorry for the incredibly long wait (unusually, most delays have been for genuine reasons, yet this abnormally long delay was due to simple laziness). :[**


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